For Day 15, I again deviate slightly from the Napowrimo.net prompt, which is to write a poem ‘in which a villain faces an unfortunate situation, and is revealed to be human (but still evil).’

I was going to try to work with it, remembering a bit Robert Klein once did about how even the worst Nazi could still have a soft spot for a puppy—but then I read that Hitler had his people test the cyanide Eva Braun eventually took on his German shepherd (her dogs were subsequently shot), so I gave up on that idea, instead looking at a more contemporary variety of villain…

The villain ain’t what he used to be

Used to be the villain
always had a soft spot
that would be his undoing
or could be used against him

Maybe he’d have to go back
for that one object from his childhood

His mother was a saint

He’d make time for just one more kiss…

Or his trademark accessory would malfunction
at exactly the wrong time

The villain has changed
one could say he hasn’t ever left his childhood

His mother is dead

Nobody wants to picture him
doing anything even remotely near a woman

He has no accessories—
his only trademark is his name
for cryin’ out loud

He doesn’t even have a dog…

(14 April 2018—posted April 15th)